How to Encourage Your Team Members to Stand Up and Lead

To win in today's market, team members have to step up and be ready to take a leadership role. It is not easy to develop leadership skills in others. It's very important to also understand that some people do not share your goals and aspirations. Keep an open mind and learn to use different techniques to inspire different team members to stand up and lead.

1. Challenge — Issue a challenge. (In today's market environment, you probably have many challenges to issue!) Some people need a specific challenge to motivate them. By laying down a challenge, you also create a very clear and measurable goal for a staff member to achieve.

2. Appeal to noble motives — Many employees think that their work does not make a difference. By appealing to a team's noble motives, you can increase morale while also setting higher standards for your staff members.

3. Be sympathetic — Never tell someone that they are wrong. Even when you disagree, listen and be empathetic to another person's ideas and desires.

4. Evidence — Back up your ideas with proof. By providing evidence, you can give instant credibility to your ideas. If you have evidence, even staff members who have a different perspective will take notice.

5. Listen — Listen to what your staff members have to say. Some employees may not want to reach top corporate positions; instead, they may simply be content if their opinions and ideas are valued.

6. Ask questions — Instead of giving direct orders, ask questions to guide your staff members to think through the issues and come up with their own solutions.

7. Value your staff — Make your staff members feel genuinely important. Faced with the market challenges today, your employees must be reassured that their contribution and leadership DOES have a huge impact on the company's survival, stability, and growth.